Zemy
Zemy Zemy are both abundant and rare, completely open and poorly understood. They are a race of seeming contradictions. However, it seems that much of the mystery of this diminutive mountain-dwelling race comes from simple misunderstandings. Or, as some suggest, the zemy are messing with the rest of us. Basic Attributes Average Height – Men: 5’1”, Women: 4’8” · Senses – Poor eyesight, though above average in low light. Strong sense of touch/vibration. · Appearance – Dark hair, tan skin, and large amounts of body hair (especially men). o Thin and lanky, petite rather than stout. o Small, dark eyes · Energy type – Brown. Cannot wield gold or blue. · Home – Jasbryn, deep in the mountains · Racial Stat Adjustments – Con +1, Dex +1, Str -1 Home and Culture Zemy are a strange race, often overlooked by the others. They have a very specific environment they prefer and excel in, and because they’re niche is exclusively theirs, they rarely fight or become involved with other races. Still, zemy aren’t hostile, and tend to be quite the opposite. Almost all zemy live within the mountains. There are two mountain ranges in Imas that make up the land of Jasbyrn (there used to be one, but the lifting of the sky continents split it in half). The range in the north is known as the land of Severgoro, and is the main site of zemy civilization. In the south is Juhgoro, which has a surprisingly large zemy population as well. Most simply never leave their mountains though. The zemy are adapted for subterranean life, and it is their preferred lifestyle. The greatest city in all of Jasbyrn is within Ellonacka. His mountain shell is essentially hollow, and filled with zemy. Other mountains are also inhabited by cities of zemy that are formed through networks of tunnels and caves. Zemy earth magic is responsible for their intricate networks of tunnels. Many are still under the impression that zemy eat rocks. This is not true. They do mine rocks, and it is their main mode of commerce with other races. But their main food source is actually vast farms of underground fungus. From deep within the planet emanates energy, and bacteria and microscopic organisms feast on this energy, allowing them to grow without the need for any sunlight. In turn, the fungus farms grow on this bacteria and nutrients delivered by the zemy from their mines. The results are massive and varied fungus farms found at the bottom of zemy mountains. Very few non-zemy ever go this deep though, as the passageways tend to be too small, too dark, and too stuffy. Zemy have an intricate circulation network to combat this, but the fact is that they are better adapted to bad air than other races. Light is provided by bioluminescent fungus that zemy coat the walls with. The light isn’t bright, but for zemy eyes it is all that is needed. Most zemy rarely go above ground. The sun is too bright, and the spaces too open. Zemy that do leave their tunnels are usually merchants or warriors. However, zemy tend to be very curious and welcoming, and so they will always take in a guest. The guest will probably not feel at home though, as the zemy caves are not enjoyable places for most to be. Zemy have a zeal for games. They tend to be somewhat mischievous by nature, and enjoy wordplay. They also have a strong sense of loyalty, and a strong network of family and friends. Jasbyrn’s supreme “ruler” is of course Ellonacka, but its central figurehead is and has been for a very long time Pasagi, the armored badger and guardian of the zemy. Pasagi has a moderately strong hand in government. In most affairs, however, Matriarchs lead the zemy, as Pasagi prefers to guide and teach rather than outright rule. The Matriarchs are a circle of high-ranking zemy women who are a single step below Pasagi in the pyramid of authority. Each of seven provinces of Jasbyrn has a matriarch located in that region. However, due to zemy communication technology, the matriarchs are in constant contact, and government is still incredibly centralized. The network of zemy is almost like a hive. Most zemy are content with their lives and with allowing Pasagi and the Matriarchs to govern. There is a strong unity between the various mountain cities, which are all joined by underground networks of tunnels and communication relays. Even the southern zemy are linked with the north, though they are physically seperated by the umbra. Underneath the umbra, zemy have attempted to create a path between the mountains. However, while attempts have succeeded, the path is incredibly dangerous and rarely taken. Instead, it is just guarded on both sides by zemy warriors, and used kept mostly for its communication relay. Some southern zemy live cooperatively with the orcs, with one living below ground and mining for valuable resources, and the other living above ground and providing protection. While the zemy wouldn’t mind having a closer relationship with the orcs, this does not happen often. Orcs are less interested in zemy culture, and also can’t fit in zemy tunnels. Zorcs tend to be large for zemy but still small enough to fit in the zemy caves. They are most often seen as warriors among the zemy, where they are treated with respect. By contrast, zorcs are usually cast out as inferior by orc tribes. Family Zemy don’t have a nuclear family the way other races tend to. Instead, young zemy are raised in their kolvhoz, a communal group situated in a specific part of a mountain and made of around a thousand zemy. Each kolvhoz is then separated into even smaller groups. A zemy generally joins the same kolvhoz as his or her mother. There are about two hundred kolvhozy in all. A young zemy will know his mother and possibly his father, but will not be attached to the two. He will be raised nearly as much by “aunts” as by his actual mother. Likewise, a zemy considers all other zemy in his kolvhoz subgroup to be a sibling, even those who are distantly related. As a result, zemy share strong familiar bonds with a large number of other zemy who aren’t necessarily their blood. Zemy also don’t have traditional marriages. Though some zemy are known to take life partners, many are in a life partnership with their kolvhoz (or multiple members thereof). Instead of marriage, zemy, especially male zemy, tend to wander to different kolvhozy located in other mountains. There, they will mate (possibly with multiple others) and often leave soon after. Most zemy “sow their wild oats” primarily in their youth before settling down at a kolvhoz. Women usually return to their birth kolvhoz, while men often settle at a kolvhoz they visited where they felt particularly at home. After their youth, most zemy don’t spend much time reproducing, though men who have moved to a different kolvhoz obviously still can. However, even older zemy will often go on “pilgrimages” to other mountains. Zemy keep close track of their heritage. In fact, their full names alone are all that is needed to ensure that inbreeding doesn’t happen. Zemy simply don’t procreate with anyone from either their parent’s or grandparent’s birth-kolvhoz (this adds up to four kolvhozy since the grandmothers will probably share birth-kolvhozy with the mother and father). For example, any zemy who met a certain famous warrior, Mikhail Ivanovich Bazarov would know that he was born in the Bazayva kolvhoz (as was his mother and maternal grandmother), with a father from the Rovny kolvhoz (and a paternal grandmother). From his middle name, you can tell that his maternal grandfather was from the Ivanof kolvhoz and his paternal grandfather was from the Vichinof kolvhoz. Thus, Mikhail would know not to mate with someone with the name Mavi Rovflifa Uzgalto, as they both have a grandparent from the Rovny kolvhoz. If Mikhail did have a child with someone named Mavi Luvflifa Uzgalto, the child’s name could be something like Anya Altorov Uzgbazar. Note how the great-grandfathers’ kolvhoz are now gone from the name. The maternal side always goes first also. A kolvhoz name’s descent is matrilineal. A line of daughters will retain their kolvhoz as the first part of their last name. This also explains why matriarchs tend to be in power. They descend from a line of matriarchs and have remained at a given kolvhoz for generations. Among other cultures, zemy have gained a reputation for licentiousness. There’s truth to this claim, as zemy certainly do sleep around more often than races that practice marriage. However, zemy still can have high standards, though this is more the case for life or kolvhoz partners than for sexual partners. Zemy have also traditionally used a fungus-based contraceptive. This has allowed their sex to be a social function and not strictly procreational. Religion There are many aspects of zemy religion that are not fully understood. Zemy aren’t necessarily secretive about their beliefs, they just rarely explain them in ways that make complete sense.' '''At the pinnacle of zemy religion seems to sit Ellonacka, who also happens to be the largest city of Jasbyrn. However, Ellonacka is thought of as a great communicator. He communicates with what is the true core of zemy religion: Chromoria herself. First and foremost, zemy worship the entire planet. Zemy think of Chromoria as a living entity that isn’t at all separate from them. In fact, to zemy, the entire planet and all of those on and in it are a single life. The zemy worship Chromoria as their mother who provides them with energy and minerals. And when zemy die, they believe they return to the mother as a part of her. When a zemy dies, they are laid to rest in the depths of their mountain, where fungus decomposes the body. At this point, the zemy believe that bodies’ molecules, the building blocks of the spirit, return to the earth, which is made of the same building blocks. When a new zemy is born, they are created from the earth’s molecules as well. Thus, all zemy are in a cycle of budding from and returning to mother earth. However, this can be differentiated from elvish or orcish reincarnation in that a zemy’s body splits into a billion different granules, each of which will eventually become a part of a different future body. Each living zemy is thus a patchwork recombination of zemy past. Zemy worship is hard to understand because half of it appears to be ritual and the other half practical upkeep. In fact, it may be 100% either of those. For instance, zemy will sometimes stand on their head and hands in front of a new vein of ore they found. Whether this is just a bizarre ritual to appease the earth or it is an actual energy manipulating technique is unclear. To fuel the myths of zemy as rock eaters, many zemy will literally consume gemstones they find (usually by sucking on them and having them slowly dissolve with magic). There seems to be religious significance to this, as some say gemstones contain the molecules of great zemy. But there may also be physical benefits from this, since zemy control earth energy and gem stones often are conduits of energy. Zemy also have a pantheon of spirits. These spirits can be old zemy, spirits of stones, gems, even plants and animals. The general understanding behind this is that any part of Chromoria that has molecules of life in it is alive at some level. However, it’s not quite that simple.' '''This is an example of where zemy make it very difficult to understand their beliefs. Sometimes zemy act like the spirits are real and even incredibly powerful. Other times, they treat them as children’s ghost stories. And most often, zemy seem to treat them as ridiculous tales to laugh at. They sit together in groups late at night, sharing fermented fungus juice and competing with each other via increasingly tall tales of their run-ins with spirits. In fact, it seems that for zemy, most of religion, outside of the earth itself, is the realm of entertainment. Gods and spirits are for stories, not to be believed exactly, but to be enjoyed. However, once again, it is difficult to say with zemy, as they often mean more or less than what they say. These entertaining stories could actually hold spiritual value. The upshot to all of this is that zemy religion is simply something that only zemy really understand. And beyond that, even individual zemy, while having the same idea of it, will have different personal experiences. A zemy’s own pantheon will be a mix of the gods and spirits he learned of while sitting with others around the warmth fungus, mixed with gods and spirits he invented himself. And the whole time he talks of it, he’ll be at once joking and completely serious. An actual conversation with a zemy: Intrepid Anthropologist: I understand that these spirits of yours sometimes communicate. Has one ever spoken to you? Zemy: Oh yes, of course. Anthropologist: Can you tell me about it? Zemy: Most certainly. Just the other day, as I was walking my tunnel, I happened across a pile of steaming netlova* noj**, and as soon as I accidently stepped in it, the noj spirit spoke to me. Anthropologist: Really. Zemy: Oh yes. Initially it was angry. It had spent its whole life working its way out, then I went and crushed it. But I managed to calm it down. Anthropologist: What did this spirit look like? Zemy: Smelly. (at this point the zemy and his friends paused for a laugh before continuing). Zemy: The noj spirit wanted me to deliver a very important message. Anthropologist: What was that? Zemy: That my netlova needed more fiber in his diet. (More laughs as the anthropologist sits oh so patiently). Anthropologist to a different zemy: Is your friend telling the truth or lying? Other zemy: Yes. *netlova – large domesticated bats used by the zemy **noj – a slang term for excrement. Category:Races